West Point Thoroughbreds has a prominent trio for the opening Saturday card at Kentucky Downs this weekend with Carson’s Run and Cugino both in line for the $3.1-million Nashville Derby and Dontlookbackatall bidding for her fourth straight stakes win in the Grade 2 Ladies Turf Sprint.
Incredible purses are on offer throughout the unique meet at Kentucky Downs, an all-turf track on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. For instance, another West Point runner, Norwich, will be competing for a $190,000 pot in an entry-level allowance earlier on Saturday’s card.
Any of the stakes trio, Carson’s Run, Cugino or Dontlookbackatall, could go favored. Carson’s Run is wheeling back after a signature win in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby on August 11. Joel Rosario rides him for Christophe Clement.
Cugino is coming off a break-out win of his own in the Audubon Stakes on June 1 at Churchill for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. Red-hot jockey Flavien Prat will be in the irons in a full field.
Dontlookbackatall is a headliner for the Ladies Turf Sprint as she looks to continue her win streak, which featured a Grade 3 score in the Caress at Saratoga on July 25. Rosario and Clement team up again with Dontlookbackatall, a Pennsylvania-bred acquired for $150,000 as an OBS 2-year-old. Carson’s Run also was in that price range at $170,000 at OBS, while Cugino was a $225,000 yearling at Keeneland September.
West Point wraps up the Saratoga meet with The Process making his stakes debut in Friday’s Grade 3 Saranac, while Parnac will defend her title in the Grade 2 Flower Bowl Stakes on Saturday. At Del Mar, West Point and co-owner Michael Talla will have Soho in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines on Saturday and will be double-handed on Sunday in the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar with Pony Express and Indispensable.
Horse Racing Nation: Finley Will Be Home for Nashville Derby With Carson’s Run, Cugino
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Epic Labor Day Weekend
